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Anglers rescued by Marine Rescue Ballina after fishing trawler sinks off Lennox Head

Marine Rescue NSW volunteers from Ballina have saved two anglers after their fishing trawler quickly filled with water and sunk near Lennox Head in the Northern Rivers.

The sinking boat. Picture: Supplied.
The sinking boat. Picture: Supplied.

Marine Rescue NSW volunteers from Ballina have saved two anglers after their fishing trawler quickly filled with water and sunk near Lennox Head in the Northern Rivers.

Ballina volunteers received a call for help from the two distressed boaties who had run into trouble 15km east of the Lennox coastline about 3am on Sunday morning

Marine Rescue NSW Inspector Rodney Page said Marine Rescue Port Macquarie, which acts as a 24-hour communications hub, got the call and the Ballina rescuers scrambled.

“The skipper advised the vessel was taking on water and experiencing engine failure,” he said.

Marine Rescue NSW Inspector Rodney Page.
Marine Rescue NSW Inspector Rodney Page.

The fishers reported in a follow-up call about 15 minutes later that water had reached the deck of the vessel.

The pair wearing life jackets were forced to abandon the boat and hop into a life raft.

The rescue crew spotted lights and transferred the two anglers to a rescue boat about 4.20am.

The sunken vessel has become a navigation hazard and Marine Rescue Ballina has been warning boaties in the area.

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/ballina/community/anglers-rescued-by-marine-rescue-ballina-after-fishing-trawler-sinks-off-lennox-head/news-story/78859a45c488e5e86fe15d3d10d58fda